Cabinet door construction



Nov. 20, 1934. w. R. RIX

CABINET DOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 7, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 20, 1934. w. R RIX 1,981,710

CABINET DOOR CONSTRUCTION I Filed Jan. 7, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 wvbnbm Patented Nov. 20, 1934 CABINET DOOR CONSTRUCTION William R. Rix, llion, N. Y., assignor to A. N. Russell & Sons Company, Ilion, N. Y., a corpo-' ration of New York Application January 7, 1932, Serial No. 585,263

2 Claim S." (Cl. 312-189) This invention relates to cabinet manufacture and pertains more particularly to improvements in the frame construction of the doorways and hinged doors of show cases or museum cabinets 'of the general type disclosed in my prior Patent No. 1,859,798 dated May 24, 1932.

In my said patent I have described a cabinet comprising vertical panels each having, a relatively narrow metal frame composed of horizontal and vertical margin pieces, the vertical frame margins interfitting at the corners of the cabinet and being provided with dust and verminproof packing, and one of the panels being suitably hinged to furnish a swinging casement or v door closing against jamb portions of the margin pieces at opposite sides of the entrance tothe cabinet; The panel frames receive the margins of glass panes or other transparent panel material which affords a clear view of the objects exhibited within the cabinet; the vertical panels are mounted upon an appropriate base and are closed at the top by a horizontal panel or cover which may be transparent or opaque; and the erected cabinet is particularly attractive in appearance as well as protective and durable simple types of locks for securing the closed door, without exerting undue strain upon the door frame or locking mechanism.

The specific features of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the recommended embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and will be pointed out in the appended claims. It .will be understood that the particular materials and structural details herein set forth may be varied to suit the intended purpose of the cabinet without depart ing from the essence of this invention.

In the drawings; I Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a single-door cabinet constructed in accordance with the invention; 1

fully described in my said patent, the museum of three of the panels having complementalmem- Figs. 2 and 3 are horizontal and vertical sections respectively, taken through the cabinet of Fig. l, the sectional views being fragmentary and to larger scale;

Fig. 4 is a sectional perspective of a modified arrangement illustrating the center post or mullion of a doublev door cabinet and also showing one form of door lock; V Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail partly broken awayto illustrate the locking mechanism of Fig. 4;

I Fig. 6 is a, detail section of a modified corner joint, illustrating atype of look similar to that shown in Figs. 4 and 5;

Figs. 7 and 8 are sectional and face views of such a corner joint equipped with a modified type of lock.

In the particular embodiment chosen for the purpose of illustration in Figs. 1 to 3 and as more .75 cabinet preferably comprises upright panels 10 having glass panes mounted in rectangular metal frames including interconnected horizontal and vertical margin pieces, the vertical frame margins .80 bers which are suitably interlocked at two corn'ers of the cabinet to provide sealed joints, and

the fourth panel 11 being hinged at 12 upon one corner of the case to'provide a swinging door closing against the opposite corner upright. A

panel or cover 13 encloses the top of the cabinet,

and the side panels 10 are mounted upon an appropriate base 14.

' Each panel frame has marginal channels 15 receiving the edges of the glass panes 16 together with a packing strip 17 and a crimped spring 18 for holding and sealing the pane in the frame. The horizontal bottom pieces 19 of the three side panels 10 are substantially H-shaped in cross section and have inwardly, projecting flanges 20 which abut the base 14 respectively, and which may be affixed thereto by screws 21 or other fastenings. The bottom frame member 22 of the door or casement 11 is similarly constructed except that the base flange is omitted. The frames of the respective panels are suitably joined at their corners so that the respective panels may be completed as separate units and then assembled together; and the interfitting frame members at the rear of the erected cabinet may be separately united'by appropriate fastening means such as the countersunk screws 23 indicated in Fig. 2. The margin pieces of the top panel or cover 13 are supported upon the upper ends of the side panels 10 in the manner indicated, 110

Without special fastenings. Packing strips 24 of asbestos, felt or the like are compressed in the channels provided at all the cabinet joints to prevent the admission of dust, moisture or vermin.

As it is the principal object of the present invention to furnish a dust-proof seal for the closed door 11, the door frame and the complemental abutments or jambs of the cabinet are specially constructed for this purpose. To this end, the vertical margin pieces at the forward or open end of the cabinet are shaped to provide inwardly directed flanges which constitute jambs for the door and which have elongate slots or channels receiving packing material; and each side member or vertical piece of the door frame preferably has a projecting rib. or flange which enters the complemental, packing-filled slot and compresses the packing therein when the door is closed. The interfltting engagement of said flanges also secures the door in properly closed position, tends to prevent displacement thereof, and permits the employment of a simple and compact type of locking means for the door. It will be evident that these advantages are attained without materially increasing the weight or bulk of the panel frames which are desirably made of narrow strips of extruded metal such as aluminum.

As best shown in Fig. 2, each of the vertical frame members 25 and 25 constituting the sides of the entrance or doorway at the front of the cabinet has an interior flange 26, 26 forming a jamb for the door 11; the flange 26 has a packing-filled recess or groove 2'7, and the flange 25' may have a similar groove 27; and the frame member 25 is provided with a packing groove 23 located adjacent the door hinge l2 and opening at right angles to the groove 2'7. The vertical margin piece 29 at the free end of the door preferably has an integral, laterally offset flange or transverse lip 30 which engages the packing in groove 2"! when the door is closed; and the opposite frame member 29' at the hinged end of the door is formed with a longitudinal projection or flange 30 which extends parallel to the door and enters the groove 28 to compress its packing. Additional packing may be provided between the straps of the piano type hinge 12; and the opposite frame member 25 may have a channel or groove 31 which holds packing material against the slightly inclined end face of the door frame 29.

It will be observed that the vertical pieces 32 at the rear corners of the cabinet as well as the cover frames 52 are similar in cross section to the front corner piece 25, and that corner member 25 is of the same general construction modified only to accommodate the hinge and the projecting flange 30'. The co-mplemental corner parts 33 at the rear of the side panels have tongues received in complemental channels of the member 32 and retained therein against the compressed packing 24 by the screws 23. In the door frame members 29 and 29, the interlocking tongues are omitted, and the jamb sealing flanges 30 and 30' are provided as above described. These flanges do not interfere with the free movement of the door from closed to open position, and are concealed from view when the door is closed, so that the smooth, unbroken exterior finish of the cabinet is preserved.

In the modified arrangement shown in Fig. 4, the improved door-sealing construction is employed at a center upright or mullion 35 of a two-door cabinet. The mullion has a pair of interior, oppositely directed flanges or jamb mernhere 36 each preferably provided with packingretaining grooves 37; and the central part of the mullion has the packing grooves 38. It will be apparent that this type of mullion may be employed for general use, so that both doors may be hinged to the center upright or to the respective outer corners of the cabinet, or (in the form shown) one door 3.9 may be pivoted to the mullion by hinge 49 and the opposite door 41 may close against the jamb 36 of the mullion. The vertical margin pieces of the respective doors are provided with the flanges 42 and 43 arranged to cooperate with the complemental grooves 38 or 37, in the manner above described; and it will be understood that one or more of the grooves 37 or 38 may be omitted when the particular mode of hanging the door permits their elimination.

As indicated in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, a key operated lock of compact form and simple construction may be provided for securing the closed'door. The lock may comprise a swinging lever i l pivoted in a recess in either the cabinet corner frame or mullion by means of a polygonal pin 45, and

engaging in a channel or recess 46 in the complemental door frame. The square end of the pin is accessible for engagement by a socket key for engaging or releasing the lock.

The modified form of lock shown in Figs. '7 and 1 05 8 comprises a flanged plate 47 which embraces the juxtaposed frames 25 and 29 of the cabinet and door respectively, and which is held in place by a screw 48 having recesses 49 for a two-pointed key or wrench.

From the foregoing it is evident that the vertical frames of the swinging cabinet door are tightly sealed against the door jambs of the cabinet by reason of the engagement of the frame flanges against the compressible packing mate-15 rial occupying the complemental grooves in the surfaces of the cabinet posts or upright frame members. The entrance of dust, vermin or moisture at the corners of the cabinet is thus effectually prevented. Furthermore, the bottom frame fzo 22 of the door preferably has a downwardly directed channel 53 which is filled with a strip of packing 54; and the upper frame part 55 engages packing 56 disposed in a channel 5'? of the cover margin 52. 'This margin piece 52 may also have a packing-filled groove 58 in its downwardly extending flange 59 against which the inner face of the door frame 55 is seated when the door is closed.

The packing material preferably consists of.

assemble, compact and pleasing in appearance,

and particularly durable and protective in use by reason of the dust-proofing features which are set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a cabinet having a pair of doors at one side thereof, a mullion piece provided with oppositely extending flanges at the inner side thereof, said flanges constituting jambs for the adjacent ends of the respective doors and each flange having a longitudinal groove in its jamb face, the

middle portion of the mullion having oppositely directed grooves opening at right angles to the jamb grooves, one of the doors being hinged to the middle portion of the mullion, and the other door having its free end closing against the opposite side of said portion, the hinged end of the first door having a projection extending parallel to the plane of the door and receivable in the groove of said middle portion, and the free end of the second door having a transversely ofiset lip receivable in the groove of the adjacent jamb face, and packing material located in said grooves and adapted to be compressed by said projection and lip respectively.

2. In a dustproof cabinet having a doorway providing access to its interior, a pair of spaced frame members providing opposite sides of the doorway, each of said frame members having an interior flange extending inwardly substantially at right angles to the body portion of the frame member and constituting a door jamb, the body portion of each frame member having a longitudinally extending groove and each interior flange having a longitudinally extending groove on its face opening at right angles to the adjacent groove in said body portion, compressible packing material disposed in the grooves, and a door hinged to one of said frame members, the hinge-d side of said door having a longitudinal projection extending parallel to the plane of the door and receivable in the groove in the body portion of the frame member to which it is hinged when said door is closed, thereby to compress the packing material therein and provide a dustproof joint, the opposite side of said door having an inclined free edge provided with a transversely offset lip receivable in the groove in the jamb face of the interior flange of the other of said frame members to compress the packing material therein when said door is closed, the packing material in both the groove of the interior flange of the first-mentioned frame member and the groove of the body portion of the latter frame member extending outwardly so as to engage the marginal portion of the inner face of the hinged side of the door and its inclined free edge, respectively,

when the door is closed.

' WILLIAM R. RIX. 

